William Shakespeare’s ENCRYPTION (HAMLET) Director: Susheel Kant Mishra

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Playwright: William Shakespeare
Dramaturgy: Vishala Ramachandra Mahale
Director: Susheel Kant Mishra
Group: NSD Students’ Diploma Production, New Delhi
Language: Hindi
Duration: 1 hr

The Play
Encryption is based on William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. It is an attempt to weave a parallel narrative which represents the present day. At the centre of this narrative is a person who is troubled by the ever increasing absurdity and contradictions of the society. Indecisive –‘To be or not to be’ (Hamlet) and the inference of a person from the present time, in varying situations are juxtaposed; do they match? Duration of the events in this play is one day. Two coffin makers/gravediggers are making another coffin. Along with the narrative of Hamlet, a coffin is being constructed. The coffin which is being constructed is waiting for a corpse. Completion of the coffin, hence awaiting death, is the circle that brings an end to the performance.

Director’s Note
My association with the characters of the play Hamlet goes back to my initial days in theatre. The conflict, not being able to decide, and drifting between being and non-being becomes the destiny of Hamlet. Even today, I observe similar situations around me. By introducing the character, I intend to address the links of such situations. As a student of Theatre Technique and Design I started to work with fellow performers, and our explorations began with sources from space, scale, texture and colour. During this process, performers experimented various ways of expressing, which in turn developed into a body of performers and designers, working in tandem. Along with this, through installations, we tried to explore sexuality, sense of loss etc.

The Director
Susheel belongs to Satna, Madhya Pradesh. As a member of Rang Vidushak, he participated in various national and international theatre festivals. He did a one-year certificate course from National School of Drama, Sikkim Theatre Training Centre. He has worked as a guest artist/designer/visiting faculty at Madhya Pradesh School of Drama, where he has conducted stage-craft classes. He has designed sets for plays directed by NSD Direction Students and Santanu Bose. Susheel has designed property and head-gears for the play Skandgupt directed by Alok Chatterjee. He has directed Pagla Ghoda, Bhasa’s Urubhangam and Panchhi Aise Aate Hain.

Dramaturgy
Vishala Ramachandra Mahale, graduated from NSD in 2014 with specialization in Theatre Techniques and Design. He has written many plays including ​Inquilaab Zindaabad, Pratiksha, MKD, Nidaan, Dot Dash Dream Delusion, Inertia.303, 01:12:58 (A play based on Lakshman Purbathe Massacre), Incision 66M, Mad Man’s Diary (based on a story by Lu Xun), Jehanara (A play based on a Novel by Lyane Guillaume) to name a few. He has translated and developed performance texts Roti (based on a Kannada story by P. Lankesh),​ Tarr Aaya/Tarr Arrives (based on a Kannada story by Devanuru Mahadeva); adapted Dr. Faustus, Titus Andronicus, Peer Gynt, A Vacant Lot (based on a play by Ota Shogo), Hamlet Machine (based on Heiner Muller’s play), A Doll’s House Story, ​Infinite (based on Proof by David Auburn). He has co-scripted short films February 29, Yeduretu; feature length films Spaces for Rent… and Kaggantu in Kannada. Currently Vishala is working as a freelance designer, playwright, dramaturge, and director.

Cast & Credits
On Stage: Sanjeev Gupta, Rachana Gupta, Sarfaraz Ali Mirza, ShalucYadav, Debashree Chakraborty, Indira Tiwari,
Bhagyashree Tarke, Bulkic Kalita, Melody Dorcus, Param Badhania, Jayanta Rabha, Guneet Singh, Parag Baruah, Punsilemba Meitei, Ravi Chahar, Rakesh Kumar, Rahul Kumar

Assistance in Light: Kiran Kumar
Assistance in Set: Shyam Kumar Sahni
Make-up: Parag Baruah, Rachna Gupta
Sound/Music: Santosh Kumar (Sandy)
Sound Operation: Melody Dorcas, Ajay Khatri
Video & Operation: Ujjwal Kumar
Video Execution: Pranshu Chowdhary, Nitin Kumar
Installation & Exhibition: Maneesh Pachairu, Dillip Majhi, Pooja Dange
Assistance in Installation & Exhibition: Ankur, Melody Dorcus, Tushar Karan, Shohaib Tyagi, Akki Kumar, Akash Srivastav, Hemant Raj Konwar, Kavita Yadav, Chaman, Ashish Kumar Nayak, Nirutpol Mohan, Kamal Anand, Shamsher Ahmed
Choreography: Vikram Mohan
Poster & Brochure: Ujjwal Kumar
Production Controller: Mahadev Singh Lakhawat

Playwright: William Shakespeare
Dramaturge: Vishala R. Mahale
Concept, Design & Direction: Susheel Kant Mishra

Manohar Khushalani

Manohar Khushalani

Prof. Manohar Khushalani is a former Visiting Faculty at Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, Delhi. The courses he taught were: Animation & Graphics, Non-Linear Editing for Film and Radio and Theatre Appreciation.  He has won a total of nine Excellence in Teaching awards for all the courses he has taught at IIITD Earlier he retired from Government of India as Director Environment Management, Central Water Commission and held many senior positions in the Government Based on a Belief that Culture and Environment are the two keys to global sustainability , Manohar Khushalani has launched two portals: A Portal on Environment and Water called One Vorld at url: www.onevorld.org and two Ezines on Culture called Stage Buzz at url: www.stagebuzz.in He has taught extensively in varied subjects such as Dam Safety, Instrumentation, CAD, IT, Animation, Theatre, Newspaper Editing. He has conducted Courses on Environment Management, Water Shed Development, Team Building and Personality Development. He was an Expert Member of Prasar Bharti’s Committee for Grading & Short listing Films for Telecast on all channels of Doordarshan.  He is a Radio Anchor for All India Radio and has moderated several programs for the Rajdhani Channel He is a well-known Theatre Actor/Director and Critic, has been involved in theatre since 1977. He has worked as an actor in over 50 plays with almost every leading director/Actor in the Country including Badal Sircar, Feisal Alkazi, Amal Allana, M.K. Raina, Anuradha Kapoor, Maya Rao, Manohar Singh, Prasanna, Rati Bartholomew and Sushmita Mukherji. He has been active in the social sector as a street theatre activist. As a member of Workshop Theatre, Theatre Union and Prayog, Khushalani has participated in street plays taking up major social issues such as dowry, bride burning, Sati, banned medicinal drugs and communalism. Dario Fo’s Accidental Death of an Anarchist and Can’t Pay Won’t Pay, both directed by him, received rave notices from critics and audiences alike. Other plays directed by him include Badal Sircar’s, Sagina Mahato and Boris Vian’s Empire Builders for Ruchika Theatre Group. Khushalani has also acted in a few films such as Sudhir Mishra's Hazaron Khwaishen Aisi , Shoojit Sircar’s Madras Café and Pradeep Krishan's Annie Gives Those Ones. He is an Animator & Graphics Designer and has directed a number of documentaries. He also held a number of Honorary positions and was President of North India Films Association, He was the Chairman of  Jury for UGC CEC Educational Films Competition and has been on their Preview Committee since last many years. He was on the preview committee of Door Darshan Channel 3, was a visiting Professor at National School of Drama, New Delhi, and Film & Television Institute of India, Pune, AJKMCRR, Jamia Milia Islamia and Professor in Media at FICT, Delhi  He has judged a large number of Drama Competitions and conducted a number of Theatre / Management Games Workshops with Institutions such as AIIMS, NTPC, CWPRS, NWA, Karve Nari Prakshishan Sansthan, FICT, IIT, MAMC, Gargi College, KNC, Tagore International School and Vivekananda School. He is a Theatre Critic for IIC Diary, has also been a Columnist with Midday and Pioneer Daily and wrote Column's Called Culture Cocktail and Footlights Respectively. He was also the Guest Editor for an issue on Folk Theatre of ICCR Journal Horizons. He has written for Times of Indian, Hindustan Times, Blitz, Hard News, Hindu Business Line, Theatre India & Art Times. He has designed dams and hydraulic structures for the Government. He is a programmer and has developed Engineering design software in Fortran. He is a co-author of Irrigation Practice & Design (Vol 1 to5 - 1500 pages) published by Oxford & IBH and sponsored by National Book Trust. He has been a Director, Environment and Sociology, at the National Water Academy, Khadakwasla and Director, Environment Management Directorate, Central Water Commission and Member Secretary, National Environmental Monitoring Committee for River Valley Projects. He was also Director of Instrumentation Directorate in the Dam Safety Organisation. He was Chief General Manager and Head of Water Resources at Scott Wilson and is an accredited consultant with numerous other organizations He is a Delhi Public School, BITS Pilani, IIT Delhi and FTI Pune Alumini. He was also the President of BITS Pilani Alumni Association, Pune.

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